IGD: Padres vs Mariners (8 Jun 07)

by Geoff Young on Jun 08, 2007 (121) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Justin Germano (4-0, 1.74 ERA) vs Miguel Batista (6-4, 5.43 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com

Not much more to say about this “rivalry” that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll turn instead to something a reader alerted me to the other day. So far under Bud Black’s watch, the Padres have outhomered the opposition. How rare is this? You tell me:

Positive Home Run Differentials in Padres History
Year Diff
Stats are through June 7, 2007, and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.
1998 +28
1992 +24
1970 +23
2007 +21
1996 +9
1993 +5
1971 +3
1978 +1

Here’s how it breaks down by manager:

Home Runs by Manager
Manager Games Padres Opp Diff Won Loss Pct
Stats are through June 7, 2007, and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.
Preston Gomez 496 371 364 +7 180 316 .363
Don Zimmer 304 210 269 -59 114 190 .375
John McNamara 534 279 373 -94 224 310 .419
Bob Skinner 1 1 1 0 1 0 1.000
Alvin Dark 113 81 96 -15 48 65 .425
Roger Craig 323 168 182 -14 152 171 .471
Jerry Coleman 162 67 97 -30 73 89 .451
Frank Howard 110 32 64 -32 41 69 .373
Dick Williams 649 392 532 -140 337 311 .520
Steve Boros 162 136 150 -14 74 88 .457
Larry Bowa 208 141 210 -69 81 127 .389
Jack McKeon 357 254 295 -41 193 164 .541
Greg Riddoch 394 307 304 +3 200 194 .508
Jim Riggleman 291 249 255 -6 112 179 .385
Bruce Bochy 1926 1747 2085 -338 951 975 .494
Bud Black 59 51 30 +21 36 23 .610

Random notes:

  • The first time the Padres had a positive differential came in 1970, when they outhomered their opponents, 172-149. The Pads finished the season with a 63-99 record.
  • Dave Winfield paced the Padres with 13 homers in 1976, a season in which the Padres hit just 64 long balls, their lowest ever in a non-strike year.
  • In 1981, the club hit 32 home runs. Joe Lefebvre led the way with eight; nobody else hit even five.
  • The 1984 World Series team was outhomered, 122-109.
  • The Padres haven’t outpaced the opposition since the 1998 World Series team did it, 167-139.
  • In 2003, the Padres were outhomered, 208-128, their worst ever negative differential.
  • Over 6089 games as a big-league franchise, the Friars have surrendered 821 more home runs than they’ve hit.

I don’t know what bearing all this has on anything, but I found it interesting. Go Padres!

Friday Links (8 Jun 07)

by Geoff Young on Jun 08, 2007 (51) Comments

What the heck was that? Between the draft and Thursday night’s comeback (recap | boxscore), I hardly know where to start.

Lots o’ links today. Disclaimer: I hate to do this, but with the general craziness of the past few days, I haven’t read all of these in their entirety yet, ergo the lack of commentary. Okay, let’s get busy…

Draft

Comeback

Incidentally, this and the game in Pittsburgh now make up for the two losses in Atlanta so we can stop griping about those…

Trevor

Jake

Other

Deep breath. Ready for more information overload? Great, here comes the PPR:

Padres Prospect Report

by Peter Friberg

You will not see the notable performances from the players who were just drafted. You’ll have to actually wait until they start playing professionally.

AAA

No notable performances

AA

Will Venable: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI
Cesar Ramos: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR
Jonathan Ellis: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR

High-A

David Freese: 5 AB, 4 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 3B, BB
Kyle Blanks: 5 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 5 RBI; 2B
Nic Crosta: 4 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 4 RBI; HR, BB
Manny Ayala: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

Low-A

Cedric Hunter: 5 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2B
Rayner Contreras: 5 AB, 0 R, 3 H, 0 RBI; 2 SO
Aaron Breit: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

That was a good outing for Breit?

Draft Wrapup

I’m watching the bottom of the ninth while I’m writing my Day 1 wrapup. And I can’t help but wonder if this comeback is a fitting analogy for the Padres’ “boring” day first day.

Consider:

  1. After first review, a bunch of the day one draftees don’t look like they’ll be much help to the big-league club. And… down by four heading into the bottom of the ninth the Padres’ meager offense left a lot to be desired.
  2. As the ninth developed, you could feel the Padres coming on. With the bases loaded it seemed certain the Padres would win; we just didn’t know how. And… after re-reviewing the Padres selections, they look a lot more playable than they did at first blush.

Baseball America may not give us much love, but this is a solid draft so far.

On to the analysis!

Pick 1 (1st round, 23 overall) Nick Schmidt, LHP, Arkansas

Schmidt is a classic Grady Fuson pitchability-guy. However, unlike pitchability-LHP in the last two drafts (Cesar Ramos and Wade Leblanc), Schmidt does not have a back-of-the-rotation ceiling (Schmidt profiles as a third starter). After a solid sophomore campaign, Team USA stint, Schmidt’s junior year and SEC playoff performances had some experts suggesting Schmidt could go as high as 11.

11-3 with 2.69 ERA in 124.0 IP, 84 H, 42 R, 37 ER, 51 BB, 111 SO, 9 HR

Pick 2 (Compensatory A, 40 overall) Kellen Kulbacki, OF, James Madison

In early 2006, I began looking around for potential draft picks. I stumbled upon Kellen. He was in the midst of a 1.400+ OPS season. I was shocked to find out this hitter extraordinaire was a sophomore. Physically he’s a less-athletic version of Brian Giles. Kellen probably won’t ever earn a gold glove; his defense has been described as “average” to “well below average.” Kellen’s bat, however, will play.

.398/.538/.785 with 15 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR and a 56/29 BB/SO ratio

Pick 3 (Comp. A, 46 overall) Drew Cumberland, SS, Pace H.S.

A pure “70″ runner, Cumberland is compared by Baseball America to the Orioles’ Brian Roberts. Some reports question his arm-strength (and therein his ability to stay at SS), but those questions are not universal.

.505 BA with 10 2B, 1 3B, and 3 HR

Pick 4 (Comp. A, 57 overall) Mitch Canham, C, Oregon St.

Canham was part of the ’06 National Champion Oregon St. Beavers (and his team is still alive in the ’07 playoffs). His ability to stay behind the plate is widely questioned but his bat is just as widely praised.

.323/.454/.535 with 13 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, and a 37/36 BB/SO ratio

Pick 5 (Comp. A, 63 overall) Cory Luebke, LHP, Ohio St.

Another collegiate lefty, Luebke does not have Schmidt’s acumen, but he does impressive statistics. His 1.95 ERA in the regular season was almost a full run lower than the next closest Big 10 starter. Luebke was a bit of a reach here, but at worst he’s a valuable organizational soldier (more on that later). Luebke’s high unearned rate worries me, but his low hit-rate and low HR total are encouraging.

9-1 with 2.07 ERA in 117.2 IP, 93 H, 45 R, 27 ER, 28 BB, 97 SO, 5 HR

Pick 6 (Comp. A, 64 overall) Daniel Payne, OF, Georgia Tech

Payne is a grinder who gets the most out of his abilities — sort of a David Eckstein in center field. He does have above-average speed and went 20 for 26 in stolen base attempts while generally making a pest of himself in the batters’ box. In an organization that lacks a “sure thing” in center field, Payne is an understandable selection.

.370/.509/.543 with 20 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, and a 62/41 BB/SO ratio

Pick 7 (2nd round, 81 overall) Eric Sogard, 2B, Arizona St.

Another grinder (like Payne), Sogard has a little power. His tools don’t excite, but he does get the most of them. Fittingly for an ASU player, Sogard reminds me of Boston’s Dustin Pedroia (albeit a poor man’s version). Like virtually every Padre hitting draftee, Sogard has solid on-base skills.

.390/.485/.610 with 12 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR and a 38/23 BB/SO ratio

…more later…

Thanks, Peter. I think a lot of us were expecting more at the front end (hello, Rick Porcello), but I also think a lot of us don’t have the knowledge that Fuson has demonstrated in Texas and especially Oakland. Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed, but the Padres are doing a lot right these days, so I’ll defer judgment until later. I love the Kulbacki pick (yes, you’ve sold me on him), and Canham and Payne intrigue me as well.

The Mariners are in town for the weekend. Friday night’s game starts at 7:05 p.m. PT (you were expecting something else)? IGD yadda yadda yadda…

Finally, a few tickets are still available for Saturday’s doubleheader at Petco. Drop me a line by 11 a.m. PT on Saturday if interested; we’d love to see you there. Go Padres!

1969: Mets Come Back Late, Sweep Padres

by Geoff Young on Jun 08, 2007 (0) Comments

June 8, 1969, San Diego: Mets 3, Padres 2 (box score)

In their finale with the Mets at San Diego Stadium, the Padres faced young phenom Tom Seaver for the first time. Seaver entered the contest with a fine 8-3 record and 2.51 ERA. The Padres countered with Al Santorini, who came in with a 3-2 record and 2.03 ERA.

The Padres drew first blood in this one. Chris Cannizzaro led off the third inning with a double to left-center. After Santorini and Tommy Dean struck out, John Sipin singled on a grounder back to the box. Cannizzaro scored and Sipin took second courtesy of a Seaver error on the play. San Diego then loaded the bases for Al Ferrara, who whiffed to end the frame.

The next inning, Ed Spiezio led off with a home run to extend the Padres’ lead to 2-0. Seaver then proceeded to strike out the side, setting the tone for the rest of his performance.

The Padres clung to their lead until the seventh, when New York started chipping away. In that inning, a two-out single off the bat of Ed Kranepool cut the home team’s lead in half. Then in the eighth, the Mets’ Tommie Agee chased Santorini with a run-scoring double that tied the game. Billy McCool entered the contest and served up a single to Wayne Garrett that gave New York its first and only lead of the night.

Right-hander Ron Taylor worked the final two innings to seal the deal. He retired six of the seven batters he faced and handed the Padres their third straight loss in front of 8,568 fans.

Trivia: Seaver finished the game with 14 strikeouts in 7 innings. Remarkably, this wasn’t close to being his highest strikeout total against the Padres. Less than a year later, on April 22, 1970, Tom Terrific would fan 19 San Diego batters, including a big-league record 10 consecutive to end the game.

IGD: Padres vs Dodgers (7 Jun 07)

by Geoff Young on Jun 07, 2007 (168) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Jake Peavy (7-1, 1.68 ERA) vs Hong-Chih Kuo (0-1, 7.71 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com

I’m still recovering from the draft. Go Padres and all that…

Blum, Bocachica, and a Slice of History

by Geoff Young on Jun 07, 2007 (276) Comments

Eight series wins in a row? Really, I had no idea. Greg Maddux brought his A-game on Wednesday night (recap | boxscore), and Geoff Blum and Hiram Bocachica led the offense en route to a —

Say what? Blum and Boca-who-ca?

Yep. Blum drove in four runs on the evening, doubling his season total. All four came batting right handed. That’s four more than he collected from the right side in 2006.

I diss him because I love him. You know, anything I can do to help and all that.

Or whatever.

I have no explanation for Bocachica. His name is fun to say, and he helps ease the pain of “losing” DH Jack Cust. Works for me.

Trevor HoffmanThen there’s Trevor Hoffman. He became the first ever to reach 500 career saves with a scoreless ninth and we’ve got the pictures to prove it. Hoffman doesn’t have the stuff he once did, and he seemingly doesn’t care. He just goes out there and gets the job done. I expect he probably irritates the heck out of opposing hitters and fans in the process.

This is the part where I should tell you what Hoffman means to the Padres and baseball. But I won’t because a) you already know and b) everything I come up with sounds trite and sycophantic. Still, if you want a clue, just bear in mind that during the post-game interview, all Hoffman wanted to talk about was his teammates, the fans, and getting a ring.

(Somewhat lost in the history was Heath Bell‘s seventh-inning performance. Two pitches, two outs, threat ended. Bell saved this one as much as Hoffman did, and I’ll bet Hoffman would say the same. And he wouldn’t care because the bottom line is a Padres victory.)

The Friars find themselves in a virtual tie with Arizona (mistakenly referred to by many as “the surprising Diamondbacks”) and have a chance to sweep LA on Thursday. Oh yeah, Jake Peavy is pitching in the finale.

Enjoy. As we know all too well, it ain’t always like this.

Padres Prospect Report

by Peter Friberg

You will not see all the notable performances from the night before, but you will see the notable performances from those who are actually prospects.

AAA

No games scheduled

AA

Chase Headley: 5 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 4 RBI; 2 2B, HR, BB, 2 SO – .354/.434/.646
Nick Hundley: 4 AB, 2 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; HR, BB, SO

High-A

Matt Antonelli: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI – .304/.401/.470
Wade LeBlanc: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR

Low-A

No games scheduled

Commentary:

Okay, he’s not just talented; he’s clutch. Down by one with two outs and two runners on base, Chase Headley comes through with a two-run homer. It was his second homer and third extra-base hit of the game. Kevin Kouzmanoff‘s glove doesn’t warrant moving him off third base, but Headley’s bat needs a place in the 2008 Padre lineup.

Wade has been ridiculously dominant this year. He wasn’t a top prospect coming out of college and he wasn’t considered a top 10 prospect this past off-season. Yet all he’s done is dominate the hitting-friendly Cal League:

6-2, 1.82 ERA, 69.1 IP, 45 H, 17 R, 13 ER, 13 BB, 68 SO, 3 HR

***

I swear I didn’t do this intentionally…

With the draft today, there is some interesting symmetry in this PPR. Four names listed are above: two from the 2005 draft, and two from the 2006 draft — all from the Sandy Alderson/Grady Fuson regime.

Draft Stuff

San Diego selections (#23) in Mock Drafts:

Jonathan Mayo (MLB.com): James Simmons, RHP, UC Riverside
Kevin Goldstein (Baseball Prospectus): Joe Savery, LHP, Rice
Jim Callis (Baseball America): Simmons

***

I don’t know what to make of it. All of the experts remind us that the Padres have a history of taking collegiate players. However, Kevin Towers and Grady Fuson have both gone on the record to note that the strength of this year’s draft is its high school talent. Now both James Simmons and Joe Savery are legitimate first-round talents. So it is completely reasonable and likely (if somewhat un-sexy) for the Padres to go with one of the above pitchers…

Now, as for the “what if” portion…

After originally being projected as the #2 overall pick, Rick Porcello is likely to do an Andrew Miller slide. Last year, Team Boras realized they were not going to get the money they wanted for Miller from the top teams in the draft. So they asked for the moon. In doing so, they scared several teams away until the Tigers popped Miller with the sixth pick and signed him to an MLB deal with a $3.55M bonus. Boras and Porcello are reportedly asking for deal similar to the $7M MLB deal Josh Beckett got with the Marlins in 1999.

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus projects Porcello to slide all the way to the Tigers with the 27th pick.

I’m nearly dead-set against giving high school guys MLB contracts, but Porcello might be worth it. And keep in mind that while Porcello wants a Beckett-like contract, his bonus would still be in the $3-4M range. And the Padres could conceivably get him signed with a considerable bonus without the MLB contract.

Obviously it’s not my money, but can you imagine the following draft (BA rankings in parentheses):

23 Rick Porcello, RHP (4)
40 Nick Noonan, 2B/SS (41)
46 Travis d’Arnaud, C (49)
57 Zach Cozart, SS (59)
63 Wes Roemer, RHP (65)
64 Kellen Kulbacki, LF (66)
81 Grant Desme, OF (99)
87 Jordan Zimmerman, RHP (97)

Now do I expect the above? No, if we exchange Porcello for Savery or Simmons it will still be a nice draft and a lot more likely…

Thanks, Peter! As a reminder, I’ll be liveblogging the draft (not specifically from a Padres perspective) over at Knuckle Curve. Feel free to follow along, or just keep doing that thing you do right here. I’m sure all of our fine observers will have plenty to say as the draft unfolds, and Peter and I will certainly share our thoughts tomorrow, if not sooner.

I am so geeking out on this, it’s not even funny. Seriously, if I don’t stop the caffeine flow right now, things could get ugly.

Series finale tonight at 7:05 p.m. PT. As is our custom, we’ll fire up the IGD about an hour before then. Blah blah blah. Am I still talking? Shut up already. Okay, I will. See you at the IGD…

1969: Koosman Dominates Padres Again

by Geoff Young on Jun 07, 2007 (0) Comments

June 7, 1969, San Diego: Mets 4, Padres 1 (box score)

As he had 10 days earlier at Shea Stadium, New York Mets left-hander Jerry Koosman dominated the Padres. This time, however, Koosman’s offense decided to participate.

Johnny Podres made the start for San Diego. After working in and out of jams for much of the first third of the game, Podres yielded in the fourth. The Mets parlayed a hit batsman, stolen base, wild pitch, and fly ball into their first run.

The next inning, New York had a chance to break the game wide open. With the bases loaded and one out, though, Podres fanned Ron Swoboda and Ed Charles to keep the score 1-0.

Still clinging to the narrowest of margins in the seventh, Podres served up a two-out triple to Swoboda that brought home Cleon Jones. Right-hander Jack Baldschun then replaced Podres and promptly surrendered a double to center off the bat of Charles that pushed the Mets’ lead to 3-0.

New York added a final run the following inning. The score remained 4-0 until the bottom of the ninth, when the Padres finally got to Koosman. With two out and Ollie Brown at first, Ed Spiezio doubled to left to break the shutout. Cito Gaston then grounded back to the box to end the game.

Trivia: Mets right fielder Rod Gaspar went 3-for-3, driving in a run. Gaspar’s son, Cade, was a first-round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 1994. Cade Gaspar later came to the Padres as part of a deal that sent Melvin Nieves to the Motor City.

Elsewhere in the world: The Johnny Cash Show premiered on American television. Guests for the inaugural episode included Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.

500

by Geoff Young on Jun 06, 2007 (9) Comments

I’ll let the pictures tell the story…

Trevor Hoffman delivers a pitch en route to career save #500
Padres watch from dugout in anticipation of Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save
Padres celebrate Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save
Petco Park scoreboard proclaims Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save

Ticket and commemorative stamp celebrating Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save

IGD: Padres vs Dodgers (6 Jun 07)

by Geoff Young on Jun 06, 2007 (136) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Greg Maddux (4-3, 3.92 ERA) vs Randy Wolf (7-3, 3.68 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com

By request, here are the home/road splits for the Padres current starting rotation:

Dude, Were You Even Paying Attention?
  IP/GS ERA H/9 HR/9 BB/9 K/9 BA OBP SLG
Stats are through June 5, 2007, and courtesy of ESPN and Baseball-Reference.
Chris Young
home 6.87 0.52 4.98 0.00 3.39 7.60 .164 .261 .241
road 5.67 3.63 7.94 0.68 3.40 8.17 .232 .304 .364
Justin Germano
home 6.50 1.38 5.54 1.38 0.00 4.85 .174 .174 .304
road 6.00 2.00 7.50 0.50 1.00 1.50 .231 .265 .354
Jake Peavy
home 6.62 2.14 7.57 0.19 2.14 9.71 .229 .280 .282
road 6.80 1.06 5.03 0.00 2.65 11.12 .162 .233 .197
David Wells
home 6.73 2.67 8.01 0.53 1.07 5.61 .252 .288 .345
road 4.72 7.31 13.98 1.27 3.18 4.45 .367 .415 .608
Greg Maddux
home 6.60 2.73 8.18 0.55 0.82 5.45 .246 .266 .393
road 5.61 5.08 12.03 0.53 1.60 5.61 .321 .347 .443

I’ve given this at least 10 seconds of thought and I have a few half-baked observations based on extremely small sample sizes:

  • The bullpen is working a lot harder away from Petco Park.
  • Peavy is a stud no matter where he pitches.
  • CY has done a surprisingly good job of keeping the ball in the park, both home and away.
  • Boomer’s splits are Hitchcock ’98 scary; what’s up with that road walk rate?

Just something to ponder while we enjoy the game…

Two-Hit Wonder

by Geoff Young on Jun 06, 2007 (86) Comments

For the second time this season, the Padres won despite collecting just two hits. Tuesday night’s contest (recap | boxscore) might not have been pretty, but last I checked, there aren’t any bonus points for style.

Although Chris Young wasn’t at his best, he battled for seven innings and kept his team in the game. The Dodgers wasted a huge opportunity in the seventh when Russell Martin slipped rounding second on a single to right by Winston Tony Abreu. A runner on second with two out is nothing like runners at the corners with one out.

Give credit to Hiram Bocachica for hitting the cutoff man, allowing the Padres to capitalize on Martin’s blunder. Give credit also to Young for repeatedly throwing over to first and helping to wear down the runner. Between Young’s throws over and numerous foul balls off the bat of Andre Ethier and Abreu on pitches where Martin was running, the Dodgers’ talented young catcher had logged some serious frequent flier miles by the time Abreu finally put the ball in play.

From that point, it became a battle of the bullpens. You know how that ends most nights.

Kudos also to Russell Branyan for his pinch-hit appearance in the eighth. After falling behind in the count, 0-2, he took two pitches and fouled another before being plunked on the foot. Branyan then stole his 10th career base (not a bad percentage move — he hasn’t been thrown out since July 4, 2002) and scored on a Marcus Giles single, the Padres’ second hit of the game.

Scott Linebrink worked a scoreless eighth for the victory. Trevor Hoffman closed it out with his 17th save of the season and 499th of his career.

Padres Prospect Report

by Peter Friberg

You will not see the Dodgers score on Chris Young…

AAA

Craig Stansberry: 5 AB, 0 R, 3 H, 3 RBI; SB
Vince Sinisi: 4 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; BB, 3 SO, SB
Royce Ring: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR

AA

Chase Headley: 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; HR – 10th (12 in ’06)
Will Venable: 2 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; BB, SB
Sean Thompson: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR

High-A

David Freese: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 RBI
Chad Huffman: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2 2B

Low-A

Cedric Hunter: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; SO

Commentary:

No commentary today — sorry.

Draft Wishlist

This is not a complete draft ranking. I included players that I liked and those that I thought the Padres were or should be considering with their first 6 picks (23, 40, 46, 57, 63, and 64). And I left players off who project to be gone before the Padres pick at 23…

Matt Wieters, C, Georgia Tech — There’s a chance that Boras’ demands are scaring off suitors (supposedly: 4-year MLB deal worth $9.5M according to BA). If a talent like Wieters (who BA ranks as the #2 prospect in the draft) slips as far as the Padres, Towers and Fuson need to convince John Moores to step up and sign Matt (they can probably get a deal done with a $3-4M signing bonus + $2-4M, 4-year annual MLB contract). Boras is likely trying to get Wieters to slide to the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Tigers or another free-spending club.

Michael Main, RHP, Deland (Fla.) HS — I finally got an expert’s opinion on Main as an outfielder. He’s “raw.” He also doesn’t project as a first-rounder as a position player. His arm still warrants the pick.

Kyle Blair, RHP, Los Gatos (Calif.) HS

Kevin Ahrens, 3B, Memorial HS, Houston

Josh Smoker, LHP, Calhoun (Ga.) HS — Josh is among the high school hurlers who will probably go in the first round. However, thanks to the depth of that subset, at least one mid-first round worthy high school pitcher will probably slide into the mid-late 20′s… At least one draft expert expects Smoker to be the pitcher holding the short straw.

Pete Kozma, SS, Owasso (Okla.) HS

James Simmons, RHP, UC Riverside

Nick Noonan, 2B/SS, Parker HS, San Diego — If Noonan can play shortstop (that is reportedly not the case) he would move ahead of Kozma in my book. Even as a second base (or converted to center field?) Noonan is quite the talent.

Will Middlebrooks, 3B, Liberty-Elyau HS, Texarkana, Texas — There is no way that both Ahrens and Middlebrooks are available when the Padres pick at 23 (though one of them probably will be) and both will likely be gone by the time the Padres pick again at 40.

Kellen Kulbacki, OF, James Madison — I really want this bat in the Padres organization. He may be available with one of the later sandwich picks. I wouldn’t be upset if the Padres popped him with their 40th or 46th pick, but I’ll be thrilled if they grab him at 63-64.

Matt LaPorta, 1B, Florida

Chris Withrow, RHP, Midland (Texas) Christian HS

Nevin Griffith, RHP, Middleton HS, Tampa

Travis d’Arnaud, C, Lakewood (Calif.) HS — d’Arnaud is considered to be one of the top three defensive high school position players in the country. Travis “consistently [gets] his throws to second base in 1.9 seconds.” He also has enough bat to move off catcher, but he’s considered “too good” of a catcher to move.

Nick Hagadone, LHP, Washington

Todd Frazier, 3B/OF, Rutgers

Nathan Vineyard, LHP, Woodland HS, Cartersville, Ga.

Jordan Zimmerman, RHP, Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Sam Demel, RHP, Texas Christian

Neil Ramirez, RHP, Kempsville (Va.) HS

Grant Desme, OF, Cal Poly

Josh Donaldson, C, Auburn

Thanks, Peter!

Greg Maddux gets the call Wednesday night agains the surprising Randy Wolf. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. PT; you know the rest…

1969: Padres Begin Long Spiral Downward with Loss at Home to Mets

by Geoff Young on Jun 06, 2007 (2) Comments

June 6, 1969, San Diego: Mets 5, Padres 3 (box score)

The Padres, fresh off a franchise-long six-game winning streak, returned home to face the New York Mets. Joe Niekro toed the slab for San Diego, while the visitors started rookie right-hander Gary Gentry.

Taking advantage of Gentry’s wildness and his team’s shoddy defense, the Padres scored two runs in the first. With Tommy Dean aboard courtesy of a leadoff single, Ollie Brown and Nate Colbert each drew walks to load the bases for Al Ferrara.

Ferrara grounded to first base, but Ed Kranepool couldn’t come up with the ball, allowing Dean and Brown to score. With a chance to bury Gentry, Ed Spiezio popped to short and Cito Gaston struck out to end the inning.

Niekro carried a 2-0 lead into the fourth. Tommie Agee led off that inning with a triple to right and scored on an infield single by the next batter, Wayne Garrett.

The Padres quickly responded, with Spiezio pounding a leadoff homer in the bottom half of the frame. Again, though, there were missed opportunities, and San Diego was unable to parlay two singles and a wild pitch into additional runs.

In the sixth inning, the Mets finally broke through against Niekro. After the first two batters singled, two ground balls and a double off the bat of Kranepool resulted in two runs, knocking Niekro from the game. Gary Ross came in and retired the next two batters to limit the damage and keep the score tied, 3-3.

In the eighth, with Ross still pitching, the Mets scored what proved to be the winning run. With nobody on and two out, Cleon Jones singled to center and stole second. After Ross intentionally walked Kranepool, Mets skipper Gil Hodges sent Art Shamsky to bat for Ron Swoboda. Shamsky responded with a single to right that plated Jones.

The Mets tacked on an additional run in the ninth, to extend their lead to 5-3. The Padres mounted a threat in their final at-bat, but the rally fell short. With runners at first and second, and one out, Chris Cannizzaro and Tony Gonzalez grounded out against reliever Ron Taylor to end the contest.

Trivia: Starting with this game, the Padres proceeded to lose 19 of 21 games. Both wins during that stretch took extra innings to achieve. The Padres failed to win a game in regulation between June 4 and June 27, 1969.

Bonus trivia: Between June 4 and July 11, 1969, the Padres won three games in regulation; all three were shutouts.

Elsewhere in the world: TIME magazine ran a less-than-stellar review of Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain, noting that “the level of the prose is droningly simplistic” and that “the characterization of the scientists and the lush seem to have been retrieved from the memory bank of some tired computer.” Of Crichton himself, this review asserted that “fiction is his failing.” Hey, if a critic wrote it, then it must be true.